ONCE IN A BLUE MOON

Something that happens once in a blue moon doesn’t happen often.

 Examples

 “In my childhood, there was no ice-cream at home – we had ice-cream wafer sandwiches once in a blue moon – so seeing a Cornish ice-cream seller was the highlight of our summer holidays.”

 “While you’re not restricted from enjoying these items once in a blue moon, they should be avoided as much as possible on a daily basis.”

 “My mother had an aunt who lived in Shawlands, and maybe once in a blue moon we would get the bus into the city to visit her.”

 According to NASA, the moon can appear blue due to light scattering from particles in the air. How often this happens depends on the environmental conditions.

 Another definition of a blue moon is a second full moon in a calendar month. This happens approximately every 2.5 years.


 Photo credit: John Sonderman (Creative Commons)


 Updated Saturday 29 February 2020

WHY PULL? - PHRASAL VERBS RELATED TO DRIVING

As a driver, you might ‘pull over’ or ‘pull in’ (stop at the side of the road), ‘pull out’ (move into the road or nearer the centre of the road) or ‘pull off’ (start driving). This is odd because the verb ‘to pull’ means to move something towards oneself and driving generally does not involve this type of action, unless you count pulling on the steering wheel.

It is suggested in a forum that such phrases date back to the time when road traffic (carts and carriages) were pulled by horses. According to Ammer (2013), ‘pull over’ dates back to the early 1900s; ‘pull in’ (with respect to reining in a horse) originated ~1600 and ‘pull out’ (with respect to departing) was first used in the 1800s [1]. As horse-drawn vehicles were not replaced by motor vehicles until about 1912, this appears to be a credible explanation. I’d love to hear alternative suggestions.

As an aside, it is interesting that while motor vehicles undoubtedly pose huge problems in terms of air pollution, horse-drawn transport also had its issues; these were summarised as the ‘Great Horse Manure Crisis of 1894’. Apparently, the Times newspaper predicted in 1894 that ‘In 50 years, every street in London will be buried under nine feet of manure.’

[1] Ammer, C. (2013). Preface. In C. Ammer, The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.

MICROSOFT 'FIND' FUNCTION AS AN EDITING TOOL

The ‘Find’ tool in Microsoft Word is invaluable for editing, as it searches for a character, word or phrase and shows how many times this occurs within a manuscript. Up and down arrows (Figure 1) within the navigation panel are used to identify all the occurrences of the search subject.

 Figure 1.

As errors in manuscripts are often repeated, I use ‘Find’ to ensure that all recurring errors are identified and corrected. Additionally, I routinely use it to search for frequently occurring errors, including misuse of ‘respectively’; missing commas before ‘which’; incorrect use of hyphens, en-dashes and minus signs; double spaces and spaces before punctuation.

Left or right brackets may be omitted. When their numbers differ, I scroll through each instance of the most frequently occurring bracket to identify the missing one(s). Where right parentheses outnumber left ones, this may be because the author has used only right parentheses to label parts of figures (e.g. ‘a)’).

With hyphenated words, ‘Find’ can be used to ensure consistency by searching for occurrences of a given word pair, first hyphenated and then unhyphenated.

When editing academic papers, I scan numbered reference citations to ensure that they are cited in numerical order. When these are enclosed in square brackets, they can be easily checked by using ‘Find’ to search for a left or right square bracket. I also use ‘Find’ to search for ‘fig’, ‘table’ and ‘scheme’, where appropriate, to check that all the graphics in a paper have been cited.

Character searches are useful for checking units when editing scientific papers, e.g. to check that spaces are present/absent between the value and the unit, depending on the unit and style requirements.

I edit documents in both British and US English, which means changing spelling and grammar that is specific to US English to the British version, and vice versa.
When editing documents in British English, searching for ‘z’ can identify many US spellings, as these tend to replace the ‘ise’ at the end of British words with ‘ize’ (e.g. neutralise/neutralize). Oxford commas (which are more commonly used in US English) can be identified, if required, by searching for ‘, and’.
When editing US English manuscripts, searching for ‘our’ identifies British spellings, since US words frequently replace ‘our’ in British spellings with ‘or’; for example, behaviour (behavior), colour (color) and favour (favor). A search for ‘ise’ also identifies British English words for which US spellings replace the ending ‘ise’ in British spellings with ‘ize’. However, some words (such as comprise) retain ‘ise’ in US English.
Words related to sulphur are spelled with ‘ph’ in British spellings and ‘f’ in the US; searching for ‘sulf’ identifies US spellings while searching for ‘sulph’ identifies British ones.

These tips are based on my own editing experience. I hope they are useful.

© Linda Watson, 2018

HAVING A WORD/WORDS

If someone asks if they can have a word with you, they would like to briefly discuss something, probably using more than one word!

However, if someone wants to have words with you, expect an argument – they are probably unhappy about something you have said or done.

OLD SCHOOL TIE

The phrase “old school tie” refers to group loyalty and attitudes associated with wearing the tie of a particular public school.

 Examples

 “The shadow education secretary, Angela Rayner, said: ‘The old boys’ network and the old school tie still hold back talented and hard-working people from less privileged backgrounds.’”

 “In a nation long divided along the lines of the old school tie, this debate goes to the heart of what kind of country Britain wants to be.”

 “Education charity Future First is running a programme at The City Academy in Homerton Row to help schools and colleges develop ‘old school tie’ networks.”

 Photo Credit: Azri (Creative Commons)

 Updated Monday 03 March 2020

THE BOTTOM LINE

Taken literally, the bottom line is an accounting term denoting the final total in an account sheet.

 e.g. “It may be a few years until self-generated energy is making a real difference to the bottom line of UK companies, but even a small shift will help with making businesses more efficient and, of course, just a little bit more environmentally friendly.”

 It is also used figuratively to mean the most important consideration in a situation or decision.

 Examples

 “The bottom line is that a new rail service through Hawick and the Scottish Borders will go a long way towards solving many of the economic and social challenges faced by the region.”

 “The UK may seek to develop such ties elsewhere, but the bottom line is that our mutual relationship is irreplaceable.”


 Care should be taken when using this term in financial contexts as it may be unclear whether it is being used literally or figuratively [1].


 [1] “bottom line” in Fowler’s Concise Dictionary of Modern English Usage, edited by Butterfield, Jeremy. Oxford University Press, 2016.

 Photo credit: Kit Carruthers (Creative Commons)


 Updated Saturday 29 February 2020

NO STRINGS ATTACHED

The phrase “no strings attached” means that something is offered without conditions.

This is believed to be associated with marionettes (string puppets) of 14th and 15th century France, which were controlled via strings by a puppeteer [1,2].

Examples

“All skill levels are welcome and can join in the fun with no strings attached.”

“Instead, the UK Government should enter into separate talks about returning the sculptures to Athens as a no-strings-attached gift.”

“In 2017, Finland became the first European country to test a government-backed unconditional basic income, which gave people a regular stipend with no strings attached.”

Photo credit: Jim McDougall (Creative Commons)

[1] Valeri R. Helterbran, Exploring Idioms: A Critical-thinking Resource for Grades 4–8
[2] “No strings attached” in Brewer’s Dictionary of Modern Phrase and Fable, edited by Adrian Room and Ebenezer Cobham Brewer. 2nd ed. Cassell, 2009.

Updated Monday 24 February 2020

(NOT) MY CUP OF TEA

If something is not your cup of tea, you don’t like or are not interested in it.

 Examples

 “I love getting my hands dirty and something always told me that pottery would be my cup of tea.”

 “One day, when employees came to work, the big plastic containers for water were gone. They were replaced by glass carafes and mugs with a fitting sign: ‘Plastic is not my cup of tea.’”

 “Muddy-coloured leaves (such as those found on that abhorrent shrub Physocarpus Diabolo) are not my cup of tea.”


 The phrase reflects the British obsession with tea. It was initially used in its positive form from the 1800s, while the negative form became popular in the early 1900s. [1]

 It is featured in the song “Getting to Know You” from Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “The King and I”.

  Photo credit: Carol (Creative Commons)
  [1] Valeri R. Helterbran, Exploring Idioms: A Critical-thinking Resource for Grades 4–8



  Updated Saturday 22 February 2020

WORD COUNT REDUCTION

Good academic writing should be concise. Many academic journals specify word counts for different types of papers. Particularly, abstracts are frequently restricted to 150–250 words. This post offers a few tips for reducing your word count without losing content.

Nouns can often be used as adjectives (see earlier post); however, be aware that a few journals forbid this. (Check the author guidelines/instructions for your chosen journal.)

Words and phrases that contribute no information to the text (sometimes called filler words) can be deleted. These include:
actually;
etc.;
and so on;
indeed;
in order to (change to "to");
is located in (remove "located");
it was found that;
some;
the existence of.

Phrases can often be replaced with a single word or a shorter phrase (shown in brackets); for instance,
a lot of (many);
as a result (consequently);
at the same time (simultaneously);
a variety of (various);
carried out (performed or conducted);
has/have been (can sometimes be replaced with was/were);
in addition (additionally);
in general (generally);
in length (long);
in particular (particularly);
in the case of (for);
is still (remains);
need(s) to (must);
on the basis of (based on);
on the other hand (however);
point of view (viewpoint);
take place (occur).

Where the word "again" follows a verb, it can sometimes be deleted and the verb preceded with re-; e.g. "modified again" can be replaced with "remodified".

The words "colour" or "coloured" are unnecessary if the colour is specified; e.g. "blue crystals" rather than "blue-coloured crystals".

Where the word "not" precedes an adjective, both words can sometimes be replaced with a single word; e.g. "unnecessary" rather than "not necessary".

I hope this is helpful. The above points are based on my own editing experience.

NOSY PARKER

A nosy parker is someone who is too inquisitive (nosy).

 Examples

 “Because I am a nosy parker, I’ve been interested in understanding conspiracy theories for a decade – long before it became academically trendy.”

 “The organisation, which started operating in the UK in the 1980s, says it is not about being a nosy parker, and points out that tackling terrorism, modern slavery, child sexual exploitation, knife crime and online scamming of the elderly and vulnerable are top of the agenda (along with household burglary).”

 “It is not known how the exotic-looking bird had found himself on the M6 in Staffordshire but it could be that the green-feathered nosy parker may have lost his way along the Midlands’ myriad of motorways.”


 Why parker? It is suggested that this name was first given to someone who spied on courting couples in Hyde Park (London). It is also linked to Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury (1504–75), who had a reputation for prying into other people’s business [1].


 Photo credit: Geoffrey Gilmour-Taylor (Creative Commons)
 [1] “Nose” in Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by Susie Dent. 19th ed. Chambers Harrap, 2012.


 Updated Saturday 22 February 2020

HIGGLEDY-PIGGLEDY

The phrase “higgledy-piggledy” describes confusion or disorder.

 Examples

 “Bask in the beauty of England's largest (and arguably most spectacular) National Park on this rail trip to the Lake District. Cruise along Lake Windermere and then head to the higgledy-piggledy village of Hawkshead, which is full of picturesque medieval cottages.”

 “Tokyo is a more jumbled city than most rich ones, but current zoning laws ensure that it is not quite as higgledy-piggledy as, say, Houston.”

 “Jenners, for all its winding staircases and higgledy-piggledy layout, had all the appeal of Emile Zola’s The Ladies Paradise – a wonderful novel on the rise of department store retail.”


 This phrase is thought to originate from a 16th century rhyming jingle related to the irregular herding of pigs [1].


 [1] Knowles, Elizabeth. “higgledy-piggledy.” In The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Oxford University Press, 2005.

 Photo credit: Steve Sawyer (Creative Commons)


 Updated Friday 21 February 2020

ACADEMIC WRITING: USING NOUNS AS ADJECTIVES

When a noun is used as an adjective, it should (almost) always be singular, e.g. "metal-modified" rather than "metals-modified" and "electrode-based" rather than "electrodes-based".


Exceptions are:

• materials science – Although the Oxford Dictionary includes both "material science" and "materials science", the latter is more commonly used in scientific writing.
• use of "data" and "media" as adjectives, e.g. "data acquisition" and "media company". [1]
• clothes (clothes hanger), sports (sports bag), customs (customs office), accounts (accounts book), arms (arms store) [2]

If you are unsure whether a plural or singular noun should be used as an adjective, you can use Google Scholar to check this. For example, a search for "nanoparticle arrays" gives 26,000 results, while a search for "nanoparticles arrays" gives 1,200.

Using nouns as adjectives can improve the flow of your writing and also reduces the word count; for instance, "reaction product" (2 words) is more concise than "product of the reaction" (4 words).

It should be noted, however, that some publishers do not like nouns to be used as adjectives [3], so it is best to consult the author guidelines for your chosen journal before writing your paper.